Going To Go Back On Meds

[reddevil1111]

So I have been Med free for about 9 months.

Conflict in my home is at an all time high. Its real stressful 99% of the time.

I need to reduce stress, anxiety and get better sleep.

I have tried a lot of different meds before. But I am going to try this differently. Clean slate time. I am looking to hear from everyone whats working for THEM. What are you taking that's WORKING for those symptoms.

I will then have a discussion with the VA doctor and the #1 drugs will be what I will ask about.

Thanks!

 

[woodsie]

Hey Red,
I take Olanzipine, half a tablet at 1800 and usually round 1000 the next day. Then the occasional ambien to sleep if I didn't get into the beers:-)

The olanzipine is a god sent for the anxiety. Sometimes I have it so bad ill throw up. It seems to fast acting and last pretty much the whole day till my next half tab.

Good luck, hope you find a good rx cocktail.

 

[Spock]

I avoid anxiety meds Red because I have to take something for seizure disorder. That forced me to work on coping skills which fortunately has been good for me. To deal with the sleep issue I asked for a low dose of Lunesta which I only take as last resort. It just looked like you wanted to focus on sleep, maybe I read it wrong, but if it is sleep than I suggest starting with a sleep med.

 

[Spock]

Also, I did a sleep study and got a CPAP which significantly improved the quality of my sleep. I had no idea how poor I was sleeping, just thought it was normal & caused by other things

 

[Friday]

Honestly.... Percocet (oxycodone) & Soma (methylcarbomol) & Ativan... Which is an opiate pain killer & a fairly addictive muscle relaxer & a sit down and shut the f*ck up.

Pain is my #1 trigger. When I'm in pain, things start spiraling very fast out of control. When I can do really good/consistant pain management I'm generally okay. It also has a pretty effective stomp effect on a panic attack for any reason, and it affects my cognition less than any other pain killer out there. I don't take enough to be pain free, just enough to take the edge off. And I'm paranoid about becoming too badly addicted to it/ have it taken away, so unfortunately when I'm on the edge for other reasons, I don't have enough. I generally have enough for 3 weeks taken daily, or the full month taken every other day. Which is fine/good, gives me a week or two off before the next round of peace. And it saves my liver, since I have to take 1000mg Tylenol (paracetamol) every 4 hours, and 800mg Ibuprofen every 6 24/7 (ground pounder candy). Those don't even take the edge off. I have to baby myself like a sloth. The narcotic lets me back off on the OTC stuff, which helps out my liver and stomach. It also keeps me / allows me to be physically active. If I'm not doing I'm stewing. I need to stay up and about as much as possible. Which is hard when I'm in constant pain.

The muscle relaxer I only take intermittently / at night.

The Ativan even more intermittently / it knocks me out. There's another one I can function on... But I like that this one gives me about 2 minutes before I pass out. I have a hard time sleeping. So anything that helps that is a good thing.

The problem (catch22 problem) I have with this... Is that if I'm already IN a bad place, and it's not just normal pain kicking me there, I only have enough Percocet for about a week. Ditto if I do myself an injury, I'm kinda f*cked. But if I start taking more, they'll take me off of it. So it works well for normal stuff... But these past couple months, and a year ago for a few months... There simply hasn't been enough to keep me on an even keel / still allow me to do what I need to do. And the others, the muscle relaxer & the sit down shut up don't let me function at all.

 

[Chin Strapped]

Good luck Red, fair one on the meds situation/decision.

As you know, I can't suggest a legal med that your doctor will approve of; although I have been 'med' free for a week and a half.

Signed,

Angry Dan.

 

[reddevil1111]

So I guess I didn't word it right. I appreciate the advice I have gotten so far guys -thanks! (love the ANGRY Dan) lol

I am wanting to address different issues.

Sleep. I sleep 3-4 hrs typically. I have chronic pain and a LOT of nightmares.

Stress/ anxiety I practice stress avoidance and I try to reduce stress. I thought I was pretty good with coping skills. But I now live with my new wife and her mother. They don't have experience with PTSD and they cant work around the anger issue.

I use pain meds Hydrocodone 10/325 and flexural 10 mg for my chronic pain. I don't like to use meds so I might use it 4-5 times per month.

I use voltaren gel and pain patches as well. Limited success with those.

I have a c-pap machine. Due to an extremely sedentary lifestyle the past 5 years I have gained a LOT of weight. I am going to be doing weight loss surgery to help as exercise that I can do will not be adequate to regain control. The weight increases my pain levels as well. So it will happen.

So I guess Sleep and stress/anxiety are the main focus for now. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 43454]

I've used Trazodone off and on for awhile now. Pretty strong stuff. If you don't lay down and sleep you will be stumbling around 3 sheets to the wind. Good luck taking a piss at night lol. 3 points of contact.

Miniprez I tried for nightmares when they were all about war. I was told by the Doc it would make my nightmares seem less real, as if I was viewing from 3rd person... well I had a nightmare I was watching myself at night in a shitty place. I never took the pills again lol.

 

[bemental]

I've used Trazodone off and on for awhile now. Pretty strong stuff. If you don't lay down and sleep you will be stumbling around 3 sheets to the wind. Good luck taking a piss at night lol. 3 points of contact.

Miniprez I tried for nightmares when they were all about war. I was told by the Doc it would make my nightmares seem less real, as if I was viewing from 3rd person... well I had a nightmare I was watching myself at night in a shitty place. I never took the pills again lol.

I'm with the good Dr. Stumbles on the trazadone. 20-30 minutes after I take my dose (100mg) I'm all KINDS of messed up. Knocks me out like a light, and I don't feel like a groggy mess in the mornings like I did with the amitriptyline. Been taking it for a good six months with no reduction in efficacy.

Prazosin works well for my nightmares, most nights. A few slip through every now and again but I'd say I'm A-OK around 60-70% of the time.

 

[Jimmy1]

Prazosin works for me for my anxiety and nightmares, and Trazadone is not available in Australia. I can buy it online though, lol

 

[bemental]

Prazosin works for me for my anxiety and nightmares, and Trazadone is not available in Australia. I can buy it online though, lol

Some of my buddies and I joke about a nonexistent website we like to call "Canada Direct". Usually comes up when we go off the rails and start talking about marijuana or some other illicit home remedy.

 

[Friday]

Trazidone is not something I should ever take. Unless you're exceptionally bored and willing to pay me. A lot. I swear I'm walking perpendicular to the ground in a straight line. It's the walls that dash up out of nowhere. And for the record, I did not low crawl like a camel with my ass in the air the entire length of the barracks because the ceiling was getting lower. It's a vicious rumor. Dreamed up by people who clearly need to spend less time looking at my ass. I also have no idea how I ended up with grass stuffed down my shirt. I mean, there wasn't even any grass around for miles.

I also can't sleep on it. Something in it won't let me. Massive insomnia. But man oh man am I grinning like an idiot happiest tired person around. But it's not a "fun" happy. Like I don't remember it, and I'm not really aware of it at the time. What's the point of being happy if you don't remember it?

When it wears off I'm hung over for a few days. Course, some of that may be from the bruises. Those walls were some jumpy sonnavabitches. Soft, though. So they really shouldn't have bruised as much as they did.